EMDR Therapy Quarterly

In with the new

Dr Jonathan Hutchins chaired his first meeting in early April. We were delighted to welcome him, while being sad to see Ben Wright step down after his three-year stint in the job.

Jonathan was one of the original members of the Scientific and Research Committee (SRC). He re-joined the committee last year and is looking forward to promoting and enhancing the research activities of EMDR UK. Jonathan is a chartered consultant clinical psychologist as well as being an EMDR consultant and training facilitator who supervises many individuals practising EMDR. He runs his own psychology service and, based on his previous work in neuropsychology, has recently developed Neuro EMDR. He has plans to carry out more research using EMDR with clients who have experienced a brain injury. In our EMDR publications database, there are three papers that he has authored or co-authored (see references below).

Statement of intent for research

The SRC has worked closely with the EDI Committee to create a statement of intent for the Association to decolonise research activities and address inequalities in EMDR research. We welcome your feedback on this document.

Keeping track of EMDR research

Many members are actively undertaking or supervising research into EMDR, and I was fortunate to meet some of them at the annual conference. There have been previous attempts to collate all this research activity and keep track of it (thank you, Mark Brayne), but it is a nigh-on impossible task. We would encourage anyone undertaking research projects to keep the SRC informed. We love it when researchers attend our meetings to share news about proposed research or share actual results. Please do email if you have any project news that you wish to share.

Funding for research

Members often ask if the Association provides funding for research projects. There is not a formal bidding process, but we do have the following guidelines:

Call for open paper and poster submissions for the next annual conference

Our venue this year is the vibrant city of Liverpool, and the conference takes place on the 21 and 22 March 2025. We invite all members to submit abstracts for open papers or poster presentations. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase your research and practice and contribute to the growing body of knowledge on EMDR. Abstracts should be around 250 to 300 words in length and include:

• An introduction that covers the goal of the study or background to practice
• Methods – basic study design or what you did in practice
• Results – a summary of the major findings or treatment outcomes, if it is a practice paper
• Discussion that includes interpretations of results (or treatment outcomes), conclusions, broader implications and suggestions for future research.

Please email your abstracts to Beverly Coghlan.

Deadline for open paper submission is 30th September 2024.

Deadline for poster presentation submission is 31st December 2024.

Invitation to join the SRC

We are currently seeking new members to join the SRC. We are keen to increase representation from Scotland. If you have relevant expertise and would like to contribute to the advancement of EMDR research, please consider joining our committee. This is an invaluable opportunity to link with the EMDR Association scientific community, providing the opportunity to collaborate with other research experts and help shape the future of EMDR in the UK and beyond. Our meetings are held on the first Monday of the month, at 5.15pm online. Please contact me if you are interested.

Beverly Coghlan is the research officer for EMDR UK.